Elevator.



Patented Mar. 27, 1900.

J. D. GBIFFEN.

ELEVATOR.

(Application filed Out. 12, 1899,

4 Sheets-Sheet (No Model.)

IQEIHHEI THE NUIIRIS warms cc. wuofouwu, WASHINGTON, o. c

N0. 645,95l. Paten ted Mar. 27, I900.

J. n. GRIFFEN.

ELEVATOR.

(Application filed Oct. 12, 1899.)

(N0 Modem 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Mar. 27, I900.

.1. n. GRIF'FEN'.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 (No Model.)

Enron.

PATENT JOHN D. GRIFFEN, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,951, dated March27, 1900. Application filed Octob 12, 1899. Serial No. 733,421. (Nomodel.)

The present invention is an improvement on that illustrated anddescribed in Patent No. 628,090, granted to me July 4., 1899. In thepractical tests of the invention described in said patent it was foundthat while the car was stopped and held suspended by the grippers andcables in all cases, no matter what speed the falling car had acquired,that at high speeds and on free falls the car sustained a heavy impactshock caused by the inertia of the pendent cables, which are in athreehundred-foot-high building of approximately five thousand poundsWeight.

The special object of the present invention is therefore to obviatethese shocks, and in order to do so I provide mechanism which acts toput the pendent cables in motion before the grippers engage them.

The invention will be fully described hereinafter, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is an elevation, partlyin section, of part of an elevator apparatus sufficient to illustrate myinvention. Fig. 2 is the same, showing the parts in different positions.Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing in elevation the gripper appliances.Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing the gripper appliances. Fig. 5is an enlarged view in elevation of the balanced locking mechanism tohold the cables and piston in their normal position. Fig. 6 is a planview of the same. Fig. 7 is a detail View of a valve-controlledrelief-opening for the cylinder, and Fig.8 is a sectional view of one ofthe cable-buttons.

The cage X, connected by cables or otherwise with any suitableactuating-engine, moves vertically in the well between guides and isprovided with grippers AA, which are normally out of operation, butwhich when brought together will close around suspended cables or rods12 12 at opposite sides of the well and after a certain movement on thecables will engage stops or buttons 10 thereon, the said stops beingopposite each other upon the opposite cables and rigidly secured thereonat distances of, say, from two to four feet, the closer arrangementbeing preferable in proportion as the normal speed of the cage isgreater. Itis intended that the grippers shall be brought into actionpreferably automatically, so that when caused to engage the stops thesaid cables and cage shall move uniformly and the cables shall be themeans of imparting movement to a piston B, arranged within a cylinder 0,to compress the air below the piston and also preferablyto cause apartial vacuum above the piston, which gradually retards the movement ofthe cables and cage until such movement is finally arrested.

Various different connections may be made betweenthe cables or rods 12and the piston in the air-cylinder, and one, two, or more such pistonsand cylinders may be employed, and the cylinders may be arrangedvertically at the top or bottom of the well or horizontally,

the rods or cables being connected with the piston-rod when thecylinders are at the bottom of the well or horizontal through the mediumof flexible connections. In the construction and arrangement shown thereis a single cylinder at the top of the well, and the piston-rod D,extending downward, is pivoted through the medium of a link 13 to a yokeE, from which the cables or rods 12 are suspended. Each cable ispreferably connected with a rod 14, having a spring-retarded slidingconnection with the yoke E, the springs serving to relieve the shockupon the yoke, as more fully described in my patent previously referredto. To prevent lateral strains on the outer end of the pistonrod, itwill preferably be connected to a crosshead G, sliding between guides27. The yoke E is below the cross-head and diagonal thereto.

Some means must be employed to hold the 'pistonB, the yoke E, and thecables or rods 12 in their highest or normal positions, and one means isshown as consisting of abalanced locking mechanism, which engages thepiston-rod D. Tlig piston-rod D is provided with a collar d, and ta forka, pivoted to one side of the piston-rod, straddles the rod and engagesthe lower face of the collar. On the opposite side of the piston-rod atrigger b is pivoted intermediate its end, one end being wide enough toengage both prongs of the fork a and support them in substantially'ahorizontal position. The other end of the trigger, which is narrower,extends under a bar 0, carried by two arms 6, which are journaled at oneend on the pivot which carries the trigger, one on each side of thelatter. A block f is pivotally connected to the free ends of the arms e,and a rod g extends upwardly from the block and carries a collar h, uponwhich a spring 1' is seated. The pressure of the spring upon the collaris designed to be somewhat in excess of what would be just sufficient tohold the trigger b in position to support the piston B, yoke E, andcables 1-2 in their normal positions, and the tension of the spring canbe adjusted to permit the trigger to be pulled away from the fork a bythe application of any desired degree of force. When the trigger isdisengaged from the fork a, the cables or rods 12, yoke E, and piston Bwill be free to move.

Some means must be provided to actuate the trigger b, and preferably Iemploy a lauyard F, which is connected to the wide end of the triggerbeneath the fork a, said lanyard passing under a pulley and over apulley 16, from which it extends down to the bottom of the well. It isobvious that the application of the necessary force to the lanyard willresult in rocking the trigger on its pivot, and thereby releasing thefork a.

Any preferred form of mechanism to close the grippers A around thecables may be employed, and for the purpose of showing a means ofcarrying out my invention I have illustrated a mechanism such as thatshown and described in Patent No. 580,894, granted April 20, 1897, to O.R. Pratt, with the exception that the tripping mechanism is not actuatedby the balls of the centrifugal governor and the spring 0 is composed ofsections with interposed washers. It is unnecessary to describe thismechanism in detail, as its operation is well known to those skilled inthe art to which this invention pertains. Furthermore, any other of thestandard safety devices or special devices may be employed to close thegripping-jaws. Briefly described, however, the spring 0 is heldcompressed by the toggles P, and these are held in position bya catch Ron a lever R, engaged with a pin P. When the catch R and pin P aredisengaged, the spring 0 will be free to eX- pand and cause the wedges JJ to move toward each other and spread the rear ends of the grippers Aapart' and close their jaws around the cables or rods 12.

Now in order to carry out my invention it is necessary to provide meansto exert the necessary pull on the lanyard F, which will preferably becontrolled by the centrifugal governor H, or may be controlled by alever inside the cage. As shown, I employ an ad'- ditional grippingmechanism to act on lanyard F, which is similar in some respects to thatemployed for the cables or rods 12; but as only one lanyard is employedthe jaws at one end of the Pratt gripping mechanism are omitted and alsothe wedge J and the rod which carries it. To avoid confusion, the partsof the lanyard-gripping mechanism will be indicated byreference-numerals, although their construction is in most respectssimilar to that of the similar parts of the gripping mechanism for thecables or rods 12.

The grippers 17 are pivoted intermediate their ends, and their jaws 18are held open by a spring 19, and a wedge 20, working between therollers 21, will, when moved to the right, close the jaws on the lanyardF. The wedge is a part of a rod 22, which passes loosely through anabutting plate 23, secured to the bottom of the car and is rigidlysecured to a disk 24. Between the plate and disk is a spring 25,normally tending to move the disk away from the plate. A rod 26 issecured at one end to the disk 24 to move with it. This rod 26 rests atits other end against a lug cast on the periphery of a balance-wheel ordisk 30. When the spring 25 operates, the rod 26 is shot to the rightand balancewheel revolves on shaft 29. This shaft has on it ascrew-thread 29 and lock-nuts 29", and a link 31 is connected at one endto the shaft 29 eccentrically and at its otherend to the lower end ofthe lever R. YVhen the balance-wheel 30 turns on the screw-thread cut onthe shaft 29, it will move into engagement with the lock-nut 29aforesaid, jam against it, and thereby cause the shaft 29 to turn. Thisturning of shaft 29 will pull the link 31 to the left, and therebydisengage the catch R from the pin P.

The spring 25 is held in its compressed po* sition by the toggles 32 anda lever 33,which latter has a catch 3t to engage a pin 35, similar tothe catch R and pin P.

The governor-rope is indicated by 36 and the governor-balls by 37. Alever 38 is pivoted intermediate its ends adjacent to the governor, oneend being in position to be struck by the balls when the car acquiresundue speed. A link 39 connects the other end of the lei'er 38 with thelever 33 in a manner substantiallyas shown in the Pratt patent referredto. A rope 40 may also be connected to the lever 38 and lead oversuitable pulleys to a lever 41 in the cage X, so that the lever 33 maybe released from within the cage, if desired.

The operation is as follows: \Vhen the car attains an undue speed fromany cause, the governor-balls or one of them will strike the lever 38,and thereby actuate it to move the lever 33 and release the toggles 32,when the spring 25 will expand and close the jaws 18 on thelanyard,which will then move with the car and pull on the trigger b. Thelatter will be immediately released from the fork a, and

the cables or rods 12 and the piston-rod D and its piston will begin tomove. In the meantime the rod 26 will also have been moved, which willresult in rotating the disk 30, thereby actuating the link 31 and leverB to release the toggles P, which will result in closing the grippers Aaround the cables or rods 12. The tripping mechanisms will be soarranged that the grippers A will not be closed until, say, one-fifth ofa second after the jaws 18 have closed on the lanyard, so that thecables 12 will have started on their down movement and acquired somemomentum before the grippers A can possibly engage any of the buttons onsuch cables.

As before stated, the special form of gripping mechanism for the lanyardand cables illustrated and described is not of myinvention, and anyother mechanism adapted to release the cables or rods 12 to permit themto start on their downward movement before they are gripped may beemployed, for my in vention contemplates the use of any means toaccomplish the desired result.

In order to prevent shock and rebound, which might be caused by atoo-sudden compression of the air in the cylinder, it is necessary toprovide the latter with relief-openings, and actual tests havedemonstrated that these openings may be very advantageously arranged asfollows: An absolutely-free escape-opening 42 of about one and a halfinch diameter, more or less, is provided about six or eight inches fromthe bottom of the cylinder, and above this at suitable intervals otheropenings are provided, which are normally closed by spring-seatedvalves. A preferred form of valve for this purpose is illustrated onenlarged scale in Fig. 7. 43 is a teat to be screwed into the cylinder,and on the outer 'end a sleeve 44 is secured. To a lug 45, bolted orotherwise fastened to the sleeve, an arm 46 is pivoted, and this armcarries a valve 47, adapted to close the end of the sleeve. A pivotedlatch 48 engages the free end of the arm 46 when the valve is closed,and a spring 49 tends normally to hold them in engagement. The engagingsurfaces of the latch 48 and arm 46 are beveled, and when the pressureagainst the inner face of the valve is sufficient to overcome thetension of the spring the latch and arm will be disengaged and the valveswing entirely free from the end of the sleeve, thus afiording anunobstructed reliefopening. The spring can be set to permit the valve tobe opened at any desired pressure. In the top head of the cylinder anopening 50 is provided, affording a free unobstructed communicationbetween the interior of the cylinder above the piston and theatmosphere. During the stroke of the piston a partial vacuum will becreated above the piston, which will gradually decrease as the speed ofthe piston decreases and at the end of the stroke will be entirelyovercome by the inflow of air through the opening 50. There will also bea final compressed-air cushion of about six inches between the bottom ofthe cylinder and the piston. Experience has demonstrated that with sucharrangement of openings in the cylinder there is no rebound and scarcelyany shock in stopping the cage.

Anotherimportant necessity is that the buttons 10 shall be absolutelyimmovable on the cables 12, because it is intended that they shall formthe support for the grippers, which latter are when closed designed toslide loosely on the cables, thereby preventing any injury to thelatter. A sectional view of one of the buttons 10 is shown in Fig. 8. Asshown, the button is provided with an enlarged interior cavity 51,preferably oval in shape. After the button is threaded on the cable thestrands of the latter are opened between the ends of the button bygiving it a right and left twist, and by the use of suitable clampsdrawing on the cable in opposite directions the opened strands will bespread out within the cavity 51, after which molten Babbitt metal ispoured in through the opening 52 until all the interstices in thedistended part of the cable are filled, and the button will then beimmovably secured upon the cable.

Without limiting myself to the details of construction of any of theparts shown and described, I claim 1. The combination with anelevator-car, of a cylinder and piston, suspended cables connected tothe piston and movable therewith, means for holding the piston in itsnormal position, grippers on the car to engage the cables, means torelease the piston, and means to cause the grippers to engage the cablessubsequent to the release of the piston, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination with an elevator-car, of a cylinder and piston,suspended cables connected to the piston and movable therewith, abalanced locking mechanism to support the piston and cables in theirnormal po= sition, grippers on the car to engage the cables, means totrip the locking mechanism and release the cables and piston, and meansto cause the grippers to engage the cables sub= sequent to theirrelease, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with an elevator-car,- of a cylinder and piston,suspended cables connected to the piston and movable there with,grippers on the car to engage the cables, and means to put the cables inmotion prior to their being engaged by the grippers on the car,substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with an elevator-car, of a cylinder and piston,suspended cables connected to the piston and movable therewith, gripperson the car to engage the cables, and means to put the cables in motionprior to their being engaged by the grippers on the car, said meansbeing brought into action au= tomatically when the speed of the carexceeds the normal, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with an elevator-car, of a cylinder piston andpiston-rod, suspended cables connected to the piston-rod and mow abletherewith, a balanced locking mechanism engaging said piston-rod to holdit and the cables in their normal positions, a lanyard leading from thelocking mechanism and extending down the elevator-well, means on the carto exert a pull on the lanyard to release the locking mechanism from thepistonrod, grippers on the car to engage the cables, and means to causethe grippers to engage the cables subsequent to the release of thepistonrod, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination with an elevator-car, of an air-cylinder and piston,suspended cables connected to and movable with the piston, grippers onthe car to engage said cables, the said cylinder having a plurality ofrelief-openings, one of which is free and the others controlled byspring-pressed valves,substantially as set forth.

7. The combination with an elevator-car, of an air-cylinder and piston,suspended cables connected to and movable with the piston,

grippers on the car to engage the cables, the said cylinder beingprovided with relief-openings in its side one in advance of the other,the opening nearest the head where the stroke ends being unobstructed,and the others normall y closed by sprin seated valves, substantially asset forth.

8. The combination with an elevator-car, of an air-cylinder and piston,suspended cables connected to and movable with the piston, and gripperon the car to engage said cables, the cylinderhavin g relief-openings inits side, and an unobstructed opening in its head for the passage of airto relieve the vacuum behind the moving piston, substantially as setforth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN D. GRIFFEN. Witnesses:

J. Ii. GOLDBERG, GILE MANNY.

